''Mulligan Stew'' is a postmodern novel by Gilbert Sorrentino. It was first published in 1979 by Grove Press, simultaneously in hardcover and softcover. The book is a metafictional and parodistic examination of the creative process of writing a novel and its failing. It is dedicated to

Brian O'Nolan Brian O'Nolan ( ga, Brian Ó Nualláin; 5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966), better known by his pen name Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth ce ...

and his "virtue hilaritas". The title is a direct reference to the hodge-podge nature of the food. More cryptically, it is a punning allusion ("Mulligan's too") to the character Buck Mulligan in James Joyce's '' Ulysses''.

Prepublication

Sorrentino began the novel in November 1971 and finished it in February 1975. At the time it was titled ''Synthetic Ink''. His agent shopped it out, unsuccessfully. The novel received nearly thirty rejections. Most publishers praised the novel, often extravagantly, but because of its great length and avant-garde nature it would be too expensive a loss. Eventually, in 1978, Grove Press accepted the book, subject to three demands.

Barney Rosset Barnet Lee "Barney" Rosset, Jr. (May 28, 1922 – February 21, 2012) was a pioneering American book and magazine publisher. An avant-garde taste maker, he founded Grove Press in 1951 and ''Evergreen Review'' in 1957, both of which gave him platf ...

wanted a different title, and got it. Rosset wanted the rejection letters to be published as part of the book, and Sorrentino agreed, although he supplied parody versions. Rosset wanted the Masque of Fungo section deleted, Sorrentino refused, and Rosset conceded.

Release details

Several excerpts and chapters had been published independently in literary magazines since 1973. ''Flawless Play Restored: The Masque of Fungo'' was published separately in a hardcover signed edition and a paperback, by Black Sparrow Press, 16 December 1974.

United States

* 1979, Grove Press, First edition, Pub date 26 May 1979: :* Hardcover, , 2000 copies, first printing, 2000 copies, second printing :* Softcover, , 8000 copies, first printing, 7000 copies, second printing (Grove), 3000 copies, (Quality Paperback Book Club) * 1987, Grove Press, Second edition, Pub July 1989 :*In 1985, after the first edition went out of print, Grove Press declined to reprint the novel and the rights reverted to Sorrentino, whose agent shopped the novel around for a further printing. Grove Press ended up accepting the reissue, but with delays. * 1996, Dalkey Archive Press , Pub date January 1996, Softcover.

United Kingdom

Marion Boyars had initially rejected ''Mulligan Stew'' unread as being too physically large, but changed her mind upon reading the book. * 1980, Marion Boyars, First edition, Pub April 1980 * 1981, Marion Boyars, First paperback edition, June 1981 * 1981, Pan/Picador, Second paperback edition, August 1981 :*Rights reverted to Marion Boyars in 1985.

France

* 2006, Cent pages , Pub date 15 Sept 2006. Translated by Bernard Hœpffner with Catherine Goffaux as ''Salmigondis''.

Plot summary

The book is a multi-layered novel-in novel. Starting even before the

front matter Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit. In the words of renowned typographer Jan Tschichold (1902–1974), book design, "though ...

a letter exchange between editors and Sorrentino is presented expressing their reasons for rejecting the novel. The novel itself consists of three main layers, namely the comments, notes and letters of the fictitious author, Antony Lamont, as he develops and writes his novel initially called “Guinea Red” and later titled “Crocodile Tears”, various chapters of Lamont’s novel with Martin Halpin as the protagonist all stylistically different, and the comments of Halpin himself who is the main “actor” of Lamont’s novel. Other matter is interspersed such as advertisement, erotic poems for Lamont to review, a

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

play, and an academic-type manuscript concerning a mathematical proof. As part of the "stew" the novel contains intentionally "bad writing". In Lamont’s novel Halpin believes that he has killed his friend and business partner Ned Beaumont. Beaumont had a love affair with Daisy Buchanan who is married to Tom Buchanan and also became a love interest of Halpin. Beaumont, however, had fallen under the seductive spell of two other women who went on exploiting him, and Halpin’s efforts to “rescue” had been futile. As Lamont develops his novel he seeks unsuccessfully the support of his ex-wife Joanne and his sister, Sheila Lamont, who is married to Dermot Trellis, writer of “The Red Swan”. Lamont despises the more successful brother-in-law in part because he believes he writes with a commercial interest in mind. He is furious when the Midwestern Associate Professor Roche prefers his work over Lamont’s for his course. He tries unsuccessfully to seduce a poet who has sent him erotic material. Under the impression that there is a conspiracy against him he schemes on how to publish his novel. Halpin and Beaumont have a life of their own, outside of Lamont’s novel and unbeknownst to him. They complain about their work, the shabby dialogue, the degradations and the incomplete scenery, and meet other characters who also complain about their writers, notably the clichés they are exposed to. As Lamont is developing his novel, he becomes more and more pretentious and delusional, his support systems fail, and the “story” gets out of hand. As he loses direction and control, Halpin fears he even may have died. Eventually his characters leave him and Halpin runs off, - Beaumont, too, provided he is "alive".

Intertextual allusions

The concept that characters have a life of their own is seen in the work of Brian O’Nolan to whom the book is dedicated. Thus characters of Mulligan Stew have links to other works, among them: * Antony Lamont, Sheila Lamont, Dermot Trellis in ''

At Swim-Two-Birds ''At Swim-Two-Birds'' is a 1939 novel by Irish writer Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It is widely considered to be O'Brien's masterpiece, and one of the most sophisticated examples of metafiction. The novel's title ...

'' by Brian O’Nolan * Daisy and Tom Buchanan in ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'' by

Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

* Martin Halpin, Corrie Corriendo and Berthe Delamode in

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

's ''

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction which combines a bod ...

'' * Ned Beaumont in ''

The Glass Key ''The Glass Key'' is a novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett. First published as a serial in '' Black Mask'' magazine in 1930, it then was collected in 1931 (in London; the American edition followed 3 months later). It tells the story of a ga ...

'' by

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

Reviews

''Mulligan Stew'' was widely reviewed on first publication. McPherson quotes excerpts from 72 reviews. According to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' ''Mulligan Stew'' was Sorrentino's commercially most successful novel and named one of the best books of 1979 by the '' New York Times Book Review''.

References

External links

Product page
from

Dalkey Archive Press Dalkey Archive Press is an American publisher of fiction, poetry, foreign translations and literary criticism specializing in the publication or republication of lesser-known, often avant-garde works. The company has offices in Funks Grove, Il ...

.
''Mulligan Stew'', reviewed by Ted Gioia
(Postmodern Mystery)
Review by Scott Esposito